"You..."
The words, heavy with temptation, came from his ear, startling the dazed Hyuga Hizashi. He subconsciously took a step back, stumbling and nearly losing his footing.
"What in the world are you?" Looking at the black-robed figure beside him, Hizashi's scalp tingled. He couldn't help but ask in a trembling voice, "Why are you telling me these things?"
"I am merely pruning the pests and trimming the branches, waiting to see what kind of flowers might bloom."
As Hyuga Kumo spoke these words, although the face in the shadows was invisible, Hizashi felt as if he could see a pair of eyes, eyes hiding a deep malice.
It was as if a fire was burning within them—not raging or magnificent, but silently flickering.
The figure didn't care what his fire would ignite or what it would burn. He, the head of the Branch Family, was merely kindling for the fire.
Hyuga Hizashi fell silent.
"The Main Family of the Hyuga is the root of the clan. As long as the root remains, it matters not whether the branches and leaves wither or flourish."
This had been instilled in him by his father, the clan head, since he was a child.
But, thinking again of the weak and flawed Hinata during training, all sorts of dark thoughts began to surge uncontrollably in his mind.
"With Neji's talent, he could clearly become a powerhouse of the Hyuga clan, yet because of his status as a member of the Branch Family, he must be branded with the Caged Bird, completely losing his freedom and living his entire life in the shadow of the Main Family..."
"And the timid and incompetent daughter of the Main Family can reap the benefits, enjoying Neji's protection as her birthright, letting him offer up his life..."
As a father, if he had to personally strip his own child of his freedom, he was truly too incompetent.
For a brief moment of freedom, he could choose to die humbly.
But he wanted Neji to live more freely, to live a life of flesh and blood.
Not as an appendage to anyone, and certainly not burdened by a so-called fate.
"Believe me, selling your soul to the devil is not shameful," Hyuga Kumo said softly. "What's shameful is not getting a good price."
"...What can you do?"
After a long silence, Hyuga Hizashi finally spoke. "What must I offer?"
"I can grant you the power to break free from your cage," Hyuga Kumo said calmly, continuing, "You must offer everything you have: your name, your future, your life, your soul..."
"You..." Hyuga Hizashi was stunned and couldn't help but ask, "This deal is not fair at all!"
"Isn't that just what devils do?" Hyuga Kumo's tone was remarkably frank. "So, what is your answer?"
Hyuga Hizashi's breathing quickened. Even so, even knowing the other's malice, he found himself unable to refute.
The figure had truly stripped him bare. Like a devil who saw through human desire, he was meticulously carving away at his flesh, laying his desires out on the table, piece by piece.
After a moment, he gritted his teeth and shook his head. "I don't believe you can free me and Neji from the cage. I don't believe anyone can do that."
As long as the Caged Bird Seal existed, Neji could never truly break free from his cage.
But even the head of the Main Family only had the means to activate the curse seal, not to remove it.
"Very well." Hyuga Kumo paid no mind to his doubts, nodded, and extended an arm from the shadow of his black robe. "Then let me give you a taste."
At the same time, he recited silently in his mind: "Manifest Item—Caged Bird Seal release for ten seconds."
[Cost: 300 Manifestation Points. Manifest?]
"As expected. Not the method of removal, just a ten-second release, it doesn't cost too much." Hyuga Kumo's eyes flickered as he responded inwardly, "Manifest."
Hearing his words, Hyuga Hizashi was stunned. Seeing the two fingers extended towards his forehead, he felt the blood in his veins stop for an instant and subconsciously wanted to take a step back.
But the next moment, those two fingers stopped before his forehead, and a jolt shot through his heart.
It felt as if a crack had opened on his forehead. A clear spring poured in from the outside, then split into several small streams, washing away every blockage in his brain. Hyuga Hizashi even heard the sound of invisible shackles breaking, felt a veil that had been covering his eyes slowly being lifted.
The world had never been so clear.
Hyuga Hizashi's pupils trembled. His first reaction upon coming to his senses was for the veins around his eye sockets to bulge.
"Byakugan! Activate!!"
It's gone?
It's really gone.
The blind spot in his vision, it's really gone!
How is this possible?!
Hyuga Hizashi couldn't believe what he was feeling, but a smile that was both ecstatic and ferocious gradually appeared on his face.
"Hahaha!"
Is this the feeling of freedom?
Lightness, clarity, joy...
All sorts of sensations filled his limbs. It was as if some hidden restraint had been lifted, and the entire world had become brighter at that moment.
Hyuga Hizashi completely lost the etiquette he was usually so mindful of. His laughter was unrestrained and wild, so much so that tears of joy welled up in the corners of his eyes.
Others could not empathize with this feeling—something he had once possessed, only to have it cruelly taken away, his life held in the hands of others at every moment, and now suddenly regaining it.
However, soon, the faded Caged Bird mark on Hyuga Hizashi's forehead returned to its original state.
And the Byakugan, which had been a perfect, jade-like 360 degrees, once again developed a spreading blind spot directly behind the first thoracic vertebra. The world grew dim once more.
"What's happening?"
The joyous expression on Hyuga Hizashi's face instantly froze, a trace of bewildered pain even appearing in his eyes.
But he quickly remembered that this was just a "taste."
"You!" Hyuga Hizashi suddenly grabbed the arm of the person beside him and asked impatiently, "What do you want me to do?"
Hyuga Kumo was not surprised, nor was he in a hurry to answer. He asked in return, "You and Hyuga Hiashi are identical twins, correct?"
"...Yes."
Seeing him nod with a gloomy expression, Hyuga Kumo's tone remained calm. "I need you to become Hyuga Hiashi, and for Hyuga Hizashi to die."
"What?" Hyuga Hizashi's pupils shrank, and he blurted out, "Impossible!"
This guy wanted him to fake his death and then replace his brother?
How could that be possible?
"You said you could," Hyuga Kumo looked at the hand gripping his arm, raised his own hand, and gently pried it off, speaking softly, "You only need to follow orders."
The moonlight cast their shadows on the ground, swaying amidst the silhouettes of the surrounding trees.
"..."
Thinking of what he had just experienced, an overwhelming desire nearly crushed him. Hyuga Hizashi gritted his teeth. "Fine! I'll do it!"
Seeing him in this unseemly state, Hyuga Kumo also chuckled inwardly.
A bird that had lost its freedom briefly regained it, soaring once more in the vast sky.
How could it be willing to return to its tiny cage?
However, Hyuga Hizashi was just a supporting character he had chosen.
The truly important piece...
Hyuga Kumo's gaze shifted slightly, looking towards a deathly silent residence in the distance.